Baja and banditos

Mark · Fri Nov 16, 07 1:16 pm **Baja and banditos**

Becareful down there....

BULLETS OVER BAJA: Attack Yields Grave Consequences
by
Scott Bass

http://surfermag.com/features/onlineexclusives/bullets-over-baja/

Pat retells his story beside the smashed window in his RV.

On Tuesday, October 23 Pat Weber, a 48-year-old San Diego surfer and his girlfriend (name withheld) were robbed at gun point and the girlfriend was sexually assaulted on the bluffs near Cuatras Casas in the Colonet region of northern Baja, Mexico, according to a first-hand account of the incident by Weber.

The surfer denied the two men permission to come into his RV and the perpetrators fired numerous rounds of bullets into the vehicle. - Discuss this event on the messageboards.

According to Weber, an hour after sunset, two men wearing ski masks, dark clothing, and brandishing handguns pounded on the surfers RV door and demanded entry. The surfer denied the two men permission to come into his RV and the perpetrators fired numerous rounds of bullets into the vehicle. The surfer and his girlfriend, fearing for their lives lay on the floor of the RV as glass and debris rained down on them.

According to the surfers' account, the two men eventually gained access when Weber, fearing for his life, opened the RV. The perpetrators led the surfer out of his RV and onto his knees where he was held with a gun pointed to the back of his head by one of the perpetrators. The other masked man ransacked the RV loading up a suitcase with thousands of dollars worth of possessions, including laptops, camera equipment, tools, and $460 in cash.

Weber's girlfriend was found hiding and led out of the RV and onto her knees, next to her boyfriend. She was then forced at gunpoint to perform oral copulation on both of the masked men. The perpetrators then fled on foot, according to the surfer. Weber and his girlfriend drove to Ensenada and spent 10 hours with Ensenada Police, attorneys, and interpreters.

Weber, whose company offers Baja adventure tours, is a well-versed Baja traveler logging more than 300 trips to the region over the past 15 years. He estimates his company has brought over $100K in economic benefit to the region. Those days are done. "I'll never go to Baja again. I'm over it," said Weber. "I love the place, there are very good people down there, but it's just not worth it."

Add another chapter to a horrific series of incidents since the Labor Day holiday; another Baja surf trip gone horribly wrong.

On Labor Day of this year, three San Diego surfers were pulled over in Tijuana and carjacked at gunpoint. The same weekend, according to a website focused on traveling within Baja (BajaNomad.com) an American fisherman was accosted and robbed on the toll road near the Tijuana beaches. A few weeks later, according to an an Internet report (and various word-of-mouth recountings) a surfer and his girlfriend were pulled from their tents along the bluffs south of Cuatras Casas and robbed of everything except their pillows. A few weeks later, according to a first hand report from one of the victims (a local Encinitas surfer), three cars full of San Diego surfing buddies were robbed of $1,200 on their way to San Juanico after driving into an early morning road block (in the same region as the other Tijuana robberies). Other similar stories are now finding their way onto Baja travel websites, forums, and blogs. Most surfers in SoCal know somebody who knows somebody that has experienced this increased level of lawlessness in Baja. The $60 TJ cop shakedown has morphed into a larger beast. This is not your Father's Baja. Things have gotten out of hand way out of hand.

But why? There are some determining factors that can be pointed to. With the notorious Arellano Felix brothers (of the one-time reigning Arellano Felix drug cartel) locked up for life in the U.S. prison system, a power vacuum exists along the border, according to one anonymous source within the California Department of Justice's Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement. Drug cartels, highly-trained (by the USA's CIA and Israel's Mossad according to the source) para-military gangs (Google La Zeta Baja Gang), and street-level hoodlums are all vying for recognition, authority, and street credibility. "It's like the wild west," said the source. "All the bad guys are trying to one-up each other and there is no real authority, legitimate or otherwise, to temper the situation."

Add to this the explosion of methamphetamines, both its use and production, in northern Baja. Meth factories in the US, for the most part, are non-existent, according to the source. Drug cartels in Mexico have taken over the market place. Combine the king-of-the-hill power grab with the stir-crazy nature of methamphetamine's effects and its meteoric rise in production and use may explain why Baja violence has become so brazen and ruthless. Another factor, according to the source, is the increasing number of Central American gangsters filtering up from El Salvador and beyond.

"It's a very bad and serious stew that is brewing along the border and especially in Baja," said the source. "Let me put it this way: I know what is going on down there, and I won't go down there. No way."

The bottom line seems to be this: When we as surfers cross the border into Tijuana, we lose everything. All of our U.S. rights are gone. But because Baja is so close to us, both geographically and, as surfers, subculturally, we romantically expect U.S. levels of security, of justice, and of authority to blanket us. Many mistakenly have an "it won't happen to me" mentality. But when you cross that border line, well, you cross that line.

registered · Since 12 Jul 2005 1319 Posts tsunami Sandbagger

Sickining and sad. To bad you can't defend yourselves down there.

Imagine if we gave up guns here.

not knowing who might shoot them when they do bad stupid shit keeps many citizens in line.

in mexico the locals know you don't have good defenses.

And I am no gun promoter.

pjc · Since 06 Mar 2005 649 Posts Addicted

very sad to read something like this.

they seem to empahsize northern baja, whereas the kiting action is southern baja.

the vibe seemed good in southern baja when i was there last spring. i talked to many yuppie gringos driving everywhere from los cabos to la paz and all points in between and didn't hear any hairy stories. (in fact heard a few stories of heroic locals going out of their way to rescue gringo vehicles).

perhaps skip baja california norte entirely or at least cruise on through without any stops or sightseeing on your way to the less criminal inhabitants of BCS?

registered · Since 12 Jul 2005 1319 Posts tsunami Sandbagger

pjc , I have only driven baja in entirety once, you think you can blast it w/o stopping?

Rule of thumb no night drives.

BigR · Since 05 Jul 2005 372 Posts White Salmon Obsessed

Once you pass a certain point south of el rosario/ san quintin, you will find many young ( 17-18 y/o ) mexican soldiers carrying automatic machine guns ready to stop you @ any roadblock day or night.

this is a good thing; they keep the baddies to the north.

they say they are looking for drug runners and such.

actually even saw a few mex gunships off the coast looking for drug smugglers south of there

This was a few years ago tho', don't know if its worse now

DrewB · Since 16 Aug 2006 381 Posts PDX Obsessed

I'm making the drive in January this year. I usually jet through Baja Norte as fast as possible. Once the sun goes down on that first night I gonna have trouble keeping that story out of my mind.

On our last trip we camped at Punta Cabras (about 2 hrs south of Ensenada) on the way home. The "camp ground" was empty and we had a few local guys driving past our camper in the evening before sundown. Just before bed I put a flashlight, shovel and machete next to the door. My wife asked "what is that for?". "Oh, nothing" in the morning I told her the truth: if anyone comes to the door I'm gonna shine the light in their face, hit em in the head with the shovel and if that doesn't work, I've got the machete.

I always feel safer camping around a bunch of other people, but sometimes you don't have a choice.

bandito · Since 07 May 2005 178 Posts Photographer

here is a map of crimes in the metro area in the past 12 months. i think you are much safer driving through baja than you are living here!

http://www.gis.ci.portland.or.us/maps/police/detail.cfm?&action=Explorer

bandito

pjc · Since 06 Mar 2005 649 Posts Addicted

regi - BCS = baja california sur. i think you can get that far south in a day without night driving if you don't malinger.

i hear lots of gringos talk about how nice baja is - i think they mean BCS and not the area closer to the border.

pkh · Since 27 Feb 2005 6548 Posts Couve / Hood Site Lackey

Nak · Fri Nov 16, 07 5:07 pm

Good heads up Mark! Scary shit. Shocked

DrewB · Since 16 Aug 2006 381 Posts PDX Obsessed

If you cross the border at sun up, you can make it to Santa Rosalilleta (sp?) as long as you don't dilly-dally. There is good surf, but it is not really the safest place either. On day two it is an easy drive to the bay of conception which is pretty safe. It usually takes me 3 days to get where I'm going.

I like the flare gun idea.

pdxmonkeyboy · Fri Nov 16, 07 10:30 pm

In the fall of 1996 I was mostly living out of my car and rock climbing having just graduated and made a bunch of money in Alaska. After spending a month in J tree I got a little love sick and decided to travel down to the sea of cortez for some spear fishing, getting stoned, and just relaxing with my "friend" Carla.
The day started off well and I did a little surfing outside outside of ensenada with a local that worked in AK with me. Carla decided to just get high and watch. On the way out of town I as pulled over for "running" a stop sign...$20 US no big deal. About 2 hours outside of ensenada, we rolled into a federale check point. "guns or drugs?" nope. Please pull over there. An hour later we are both in handcuffs, camera bag full of green bud on the roof. "give us the name of your family in the US" "they will need to hire an attorney to get you out of jail" "we are going to impound your car" "jail" Believe me, it was very unsetteling. Finally, after two hours on the side of the road, some boss man, obviously higher than fuck, takes $300 from us and sets us free. We're broke,have no weed, but yet, we are free.

After what we decided was a VERY long day. We parked our car along a deserted beach about 45 minutes south of El Rosario. There was a big RV about 300 yards from us. With our sleeping bags next to the car we actually toasted "here's to getting away" and put our heads down to sleep.

It was then that I saw three people walking across the desert. Hmmm, perhaps they are just going to get drunk at the beach. They got within 100 feet of us and ALL, and I mean ALL the hairs on my body stood on end. Two of the guys had machetes and the 3rd had a gun. I reached for my hawian sling fishing spear but dropped it. I was ripped out of my sleeping bag by my hair (i once had hair) and my money was demanded of me. The guy that had the gun pressed it against my head. It was all very surreal and time seemed to be bent in such a manner that everything was happening so slow and yet so fast that I barely had time to process things. I was saying ok, ok, no problem when I noticed that one of the guys was leaning over Carla and feeling her up. She screamed my name. I handed over all the cash that I had in the ash tray (gas kitty). The guy threw me down and was motioning for me to stay down and at that point I heard the 3rd guy ripp the shit out of my dash while stealing my stereo. He then proceded to ransack the car and throw camping stuff, wetsuits, boards, you name it, out of the car.

It became very obvious that they were not leaving. As if things could not get any worse, the guy picked up carla and started shouting for my keys in Spanish. I pretended I didn't know what he was saying. he was dragging carla away from the car. I told them that we had more money, more money. I told Carla to get into the pasanger seat and get the travelers checks from the glovebox I told her not to get out of the car. She got in and handed over the checks. The guy with the gun was still holding my shirt when I told him I had more money under the seat. I was half in and half out of the car and reached under the seat to get the ignition key in my hand. The key was in my hhandand the gun was again against my head and the guy was still motioning to get on the ground. I was ready to try the get away but could not imagine what would happen if it didn't work. I kept thinking that I would get my brains blown out on a deserted beach in Baja. When was the right time? Do it. don't do it. At that very instant I heard Carla scream as the guy standing outside the car was tearing her shirt off trying to drag her out of the car. She was grabbing on to my shoulder and screaming my name. I have never seen carla afraid of anything but to this day, I still vivdly remember the wlid look of fear in her eyes..
it was at that point I said fuck it. I slammed the key in the ignition, floored the gas and popped the clutch. In an instant we were crashing over the desert with all the doors open and the lights on. The guy that was in the back fell out. It was like a cartoon we were bouncing around so much. I shifted the car and it almost stalled, I realized the e-brake was still on. I hit the highway and did 90 until we hit El rosario. 20 minutes later I took my pulse; 136.

We went to the police and they took us to a guy who owned a pizzas paror, he got us a room, made us pizza ands tried to comfort us. I could not fall asleep for two full days. I seriously must have played the entire scene over in my head over 500 times. From spearing the gunman in the chest and shooting his friends to running them all over with my car. I have been through some scary shit in my life, but you truly can't imagine what the situation is like until you are there; gun in the face, stranger feeling your GF up in the middle of nowhere. To this day, I still suffer from panic attacks when I am camping in really remote places.

I love Baja, and we actually stuck it out and stayed for two weeks, but you must also know that it can be a very wild and very dangerous place. DO NOT CAMP ALONE!! Especially when you are not all that far from civilization. Also, don't travel at night. I don't know about a flare gun, but if I were you I would get a stun gun, mace or both. Especially is you are a woman. Going for a hike by yourself? take your mace. Take a few simple precautions and the odds are that you will not run into any trouble. Just remember to have a plan if you are in a situation where you are vulnerable. there are still many parts of the world where your life has little value.

pdxmonkeyboy · Fri Nov 16, 07 10:35 pm

Gman · Since 11 Feb 2006 4907 Posts Portland Unstrapped

Awful nightmare

Nak · Sat Nov 17, 07 11:47 am

PDX, man that's some scary shit. Obviously, you did good. You're both alive. You're instincts and common sense got you out of a situation that could have been far, far worse. I hear you when you talk about reliving that shit and replaying it different ways. We don't like to lose, and you wonder how you could have turned the tables. Here's the deal though, you didn't lose, you won. You got out of there.

Don't get me wrong. If given a chance, using lethal force to defend yourself against slimeballs is perfectly fine as far as I'm concerned. You weren't given that chance. Man, I gotta say I admire you for how you handled that. You used your head under pressure; a lot of people don't. Nobody who hasn't been through a situation like that understands just how hard it is. You do. Again, getting out with both of your lives intact was an amazing accomplishment.

Sometimes, we're put in a situation where the only way out is to kill someone in self defense. The nightmares are even worse then.

Final word: That was shit, but I hope that if put in the same situation that I could do as well as you did.

blowhard · Since 26 Dec 2005 2025 Posts Windward

Wow A truly Mexican adventure .
Surreal and yet real
just the way the Mexican do things.

Baja is rather unique in many ways
It seems tranquil and deserted but there are people on most of it.
The influx of S. Ca. people has really created a disparate enviorment
the very wealthy VS. the very poor.
It's like the poorest regions of the mainland(Chiapas) which are very scetchy, nothing to make a living on.
I would think the surfers with all thier stuff and being very exposed are the easiest targets.

There is also a bit of a battle with the goverment over the rights to the land right now as they are in the process of breaking up the Ejidos (ranches)and parceling out the land.

The income for cops is around $8.00 a day and that just trickles down to the rest of the population (costs are almost the same as the U.S.)
It's why they want to come here.

The police and the baddies are one and the same ,,sometimes.
We know volunteers that spend time helping out the citizens .
They are welcome as long as they contribute and don't cause trouble.
For instance the Federales stole the local police car tires in Mulege and hocked them down the road ,
The locals had no money to get them back.

It may seem nice and all
but the underlying tension and poverty is always prevalent
and the situation is very desperate.
Thier children are dying from lack of medical help and starvation.

In some of the Ejidos the locals are hanging by a thread trying to establish ownership, especially hard in the remote areas.
We also took a flare gun with us and we had a boat ,we threw it in the trash ,we figured it would not help in the end and could get us time.
It's up to the Hefe if your going to jail (no rule of Law)

We recieved some good advice we think ,
Never open the door if somebody comes ,
Hand over some money and let them save face.

The only time we had trouble was in BCS. out of Todo Santos
Some Canucks and others were camping for free and we decided to join them.
Some guy who talked like he may be from L.A. was giving me a bunch of shit for landing my kite ,
about his ancestors and so on ??
Apparently the land that all these people were staying was in dispute and he figured he owned it and no one was paying him rent
He seemed like he might be on crank
So we split.
for a campground $15 is pretty cheap
The book "Mexican Camping" has really helped us.

pjc · Since 06 Mar 2005 649 Posts Addicted

respect monkey! Shocked

that is one hair raising story.

maybe baja is not as mellow as i had thought all these years.

good advice in this thread!